§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how long on average it takes the Child Support Agency to make payment of maintenance once an assessment has been completed, broken down by area CSAC;
(2) what is the average time taken by the Child Support Agency to pursue defaults of maintenance by absent parents.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the Child Support Agency is the responsibility of its chief executive, Ros Hepplewhite. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Donald Dewar, dated 28 February 1994:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Questions about the payment of child maintenance and pursuit of defaulters.
The average time taken to make a payment is dependant on the method of payment and the frequency as agreed between the absent parent and the Agency's account controller. It is not therefore currently possible to give reliable data on average times broken down by CSAC.
The Child Support Computer system records individual case records, and automatically flags individual maintenance defaulters to be pursued. For that reason, average times across the Agency are not currently available.